Medeo – “record factory”

22/05/2020

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Medeo (Medeu in Kazakh) is a ski resort with the largest artificial ice rink on the planet for winter sports.

The residence is located on the Alatau Range near Almaty at an altitude of 1,700 meters above sea level.
Its area is more than 10,500 square meters, including a stadium with artificial ice. This will help to conduct skating, ball hockey, figure skating and similar sports on the field.

The complex is a monument of urban planning and architecture of the Republic of Kazakhstan of state importance. The Medeo tract and the sports complex of the same name are named after Medeo Pusurmanov, the third village of the small Almaty volost.

In 1893 there were about 2,000 houses in the town of Verny (old name of Alma-Ata), and a certain area in this small town belonged to Medeo Pusurmanov at that time. Medeo, who did not come from a wealthy family, became one of the enlightened representatives of his time and one of the darkest inhabitants of the city as a result of his hard work and perseverance in purpose. He was one of the first to encourage the Kazakhs to settle down, farming, handicrafts, and introduced his compatriots to enlightenment and culture. In addition, as a sponsor, he took an active part in the construction of the city of Verny, paid great attention to landscaping and beautification of the city. Verny provided material assistance to the population during earthquakes, floods and famines.

After Medeo’s death, a Forest School was established in his home. Later, in 1920, the commissioner and writer Furmanov decided to build a school of sand therapy on the site of the school. It is said that the fact that this sports complex was later renamed in Russian is directly related to Furmanov.
Construction of the sports complex began in the post-war years, in the fall of 1949, and although the first official competitions were held here in 1951, the artificial ice stadium was completed only in 1972.

The stadium and stands of the complex are made of concrete. Frequent earthquakes in this region are taken into account in construction – the structure has a monolithic, stable front. 20 types of material were used in the multi-layered area of ​​the stadium. Here, 170 kilometers of cold-carrying pipes have been installed, which are laid on reinforced concrete. The capacity of the freezers ensures that there is ice for eight months of the year, and for skating runways all year round. 1600 projectors were installed in 8 matches to illuminate the area. After construction, the number of seats in the stands was 12.5 thousand. Interestingly, the people also call Medeo a “record factory” – where more than 200 world records have been set between men and women in all distances in skating over the past period. According to experts, this can be explained by several reasons:

First, the sunlight here is at its most optimal, with high mountain peaks. Second, the pressure is low, the wind blows slowly. Third, and most importantly, the ice has a unique composition due to the extremely clear water of the Little Apple Mountain River. With a thickness of 2.3 meters, this ice provides a sliding speed.

According to one historical source, this was taken into account in the decision of the former USSR leadership to build an ice stadium near Almaty.

In the past, most skating competitions were held in Siberia – where the long winters made it easy to practice. The head coach of the former Allied national team drew attention to an interesting resemblance – Kazakh athletes, especially parents, have shown higher results than others in Siberia. When asked about the secret, the athletes replied that they “fly faster” on the ice in Almaty than here.

To test this, a roller coaster was prepared for the experiment at the Spartak Stadium in Almaty. The trainers were amazed to see the Apple ice fly really fast. A special commission has been studying these places for a long time and has chosen the most suitable place for the future ice palace – Medeo. The flat mountain was the most suitable place to build an ice palace and a sports field.

Above the Medeo complex is the famous Shimbulak ski resort. This is a heavenly place for ski enthusiasts – there are 8 downhill ski slopes, as well as two balloon and snowboard tracks. The length of the largest track is 3620 meters. The width of the track is more than 100 meters, the difference in height is more than 900 meters on the mountain slope, the slope is 29 degrees, which allows you to achieve a staggering speed on the tracks.

Snowballs have been installed on the ski slopes, the hotel has been reconstructed, spas and restaurants, as well as ski and snowboard schools have been opened.

Along with hosting major international sports competitions in Medeo, this place is a favorite vacation spot of Almaty residents and visitors to the city. According to statistics, the ice palace is visited by 240 thousand people every year.